:: RedHotHalos ::

Underappreciated alt-country, a lo-fi concept album, lo-fi gone polished, polished country gone unnoticed, a should-have-been-a-classic from one of pop's best bands, a lo-hi-fi (yes, both) concept album, a commercial failure, rock's return before the Strokes, lo-fi again, a last gasp.

50) Son Volt - Trace

A record that often slips through the cracks, Trace shows Jay Farrar at the top of his game. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful opener than "Windfall," a slow country singalong. As on most recordings he's involved in, Farrar's voice is the star here. Multi-instrumentalist Dave Boquist keeps the country flavor with his banjo performance, while Jim Boquist's understated backing vocals add sharpness to Farrar's lead. It's a shame that Farrar seems to be unable to match this first Son Volt outing which, incidentally, probably isn't as good as his output with Uncle Tupelo. But Farrar's mid-90's second-best still qualifies as pretty great. "Tear-Stained Eye" is a simple beauty.

49) East River Pipe - The Gasoline Age

Yes it's a concept album (sigh) and yes it's about cars and butt-kickings (double sigh), but The Gasoline Age cuts through that negative baggage to become one of the more underappreciated moments in indie rock. For such a lo-fi effort, The Gasoline Age is rife with musical depth, as subway station wunderkind F.M. Cornog sprinkes keyboards and drum machines into the mess. Certainly an album that paints a bleak picture ("Tell him that I'll bust his knees tomorrow"), The Gasoline Age manages to be somber but not repetitive. All of it (even "Atlantic City (Gonna Make a Million Tonight)," nearly ten minutes long) is enjoyable. And you can't go wrong with a song called "Shiny, Shiny Pimpmobile." Or can you?

48) Guided by Voices - Under the Bushes Under the Stars

The first of many Guided by Voices/Robert Pollard listings on the list. (Call it repetitive...I'll tell you it's unbelievable stuff.) It's tough to deny an album that's so good that a track as great as "Underwater Explosions" can go virtually unnoticed. Here Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout and the Guided by Voices "classic" lineup blast through 24 strong pop songs. "Official Ironman Rally Song" is an epic, and "Cut-Out Witch" is a two-minute explosion. What most distinguishes this outing from other Guided by Voices records is the quality of the slow, near-ballads, standout tracks like "Acorns & Orioles," "Look at Them," and "Redmen and Their Wives."

47) Neko Case and Her Boyfriends - Furnace Room Lullaby

Oh, the voice. Oh, the voice. (Repeated for emphasis.) Neko Case can simply belt it out. Twenty-five years ago, when it was about the voices and the performances and the twang was more than a gimmick, she would have been a Nashville star. Unfortunately, at least for Case's fame, adult contemporary hat rock (see: Faith Hill) she ain't. So we'll be content to watch her belt out Grand Ole Opry-worthy tunes for crowds of those "in the know" at clubs throughout the country. The two best performances here are "Twist the Knife" and "Thrice All American," one of the most impressive one-two punches I've heard. And when was the last time you heard a no-frills ode to one's hometown? Especially when that hometown is...Tacoma? Neko pulls it off.

46) The Beach Boys - Sunflower

A Beach Boys record, and one of the strongest tracks was written and sung by...Dennis Wilson? Sounds strange, but when that track is "Got to Know the Woman," it's also a good thing. After the flameout of the Smile sessions, Sunflower was a hit in Europe but went unnoticed stateside. "This Whole World" nearly equals the strongest tracks on Pet Sounds, and is still regularly performed at Brian Wilson's solo shows. Bruce Johnston's "Tears in the Morning" is heartbreaking, and the Al Jardine-Brian Wilson collaboration "At My Window" is sweet. Along with "Surf's Up" (from the later album of the same name), "Cool, Cool Water" is one of tracks where Brian's pop sensibility best meshed with his experimental leanings. Now available on one disc with Surf's Up, Sunflower is one of the best recordings you've never heard.

45) Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

"Broken Household Appliance National Forest?" "Chartsengraphs?" "Jed the Humanoid?" Please, please look past the stupid titles and somewhat ridiculous subject matter. Using vintage keyboards, basic samplers, and good old-fashioned distorted guitars, Jason Lytle and company release and outstanding album that nearly matched the hype. "Hewlett's Daughter," a pounding, keyboard-driven pop song is the perfect antidote to harrowing opener "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot." The album's spacey imagery is odd, but Lytle's Wayne Coyne-impression manages to keep it listenable. Maybe even outstanding.

44) Weezer - Pinkerton

The only Weezer album to make my list. I'm sure you know the story: Rivers Cuomo writes with a previously-unheard personal bent, the album gets ignored, the band dissipates, the record becomes a touchstone for emo kids across the country, Weezer returns to take over the world. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said. "El Scorcho" and "The Good Life" should have been hits, and "Pink Triangle" would have been in 2000 (lesbians weren't yet cool at Pinkerton's release). And now we can thank Rivers Cuomo for...Saves the Day and Dashboard Confessional. They've toured with Dashboard, dammit.

43) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - B.R.M.C.

Dark, brooding, rocking. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's initial demos caused Noel Gallagher to call the Rebels his favorite band (blessing or curse?) and touched off a bidding war eventually won by Vigin. I like the brooders here more than the rockers, notably "As Sure as the Sun" and "Too Real." It's amazing to hear the ramshackle skronk of "White Palms" dissolve into an acoustic strum and a puzzling intonation: "I wouldn't come back / If I'd've been Jesus / I'm the type of guy who leaves the scene of the crime." For one shining moment, "Love Burns" was an MTV2 hit. I hope, really hope, that these guys one day play stadiums. The strobes, the smoke machines, the sonic layering would be stunning. Even in 30-person clubs, don't miss 'em.

42) Centro-Matic - Navigational

It's repetitious, but in a good way. Will Johnson's strained, cigarette-addled vocals are the record's strongest point, and they're best heard over his skeletal strums and Matt Pence's violins. Tales of tragic despair, whether on a national level ("The Massacre Went Well," anyone?) or a personal one (best exemplified when Johnson intones "In time, we'll talk it out / But I don't even know what for"). The song titles here --- "Ballad of Private Rifle Sound," "Line. Connection. Aim," "With Respect to Alcohol" --- demonstrate Johnson's obvious affinity for Robert Pollard, and the production and performance here match that lofty standard.

41) Guided by Voices - Propeller

Sonic variation is something that Robert Pollard doesn't get enough credit for. Whether being pigeonholed as the drunk former teacher, the lo-fi troubador, or "that Ohioan faking a British accent," people seem to forget that the songs this man writes run the gamut: "Over the Neptune" is an epic call-to-arms party anthem, followed by the somber "Weedking." "Particular Damaged" is all distortion and drumming, and "Quality of Armor" shows an unmatched pop sensibility. Later on, "Red Gas Circle" is a masterful acoustic strum, and "Exit Flagger" and "Some Drilling Implied" are almost metal. It's a shame that "Lethargy" is the only track that still gets the live treatment. Oh, to hear "On the Tundra!"

 

50-41

40-31

30-21

20-11

10-6

5-1